Trust Me Or Not
by simplycyndilicious
Summary: There are only two tributes left in the 74th hHunger Games. Both are desparate to win. What happens when Katniss befriends the ruthless Cato? Was she wrong about him this whole time? Can she trust him? A twist in the Hunger Games. Oneshot


Trust me…Or not

After running for the past 2 miles Cato finally slowed down to a swift walk. He leaned against a tree gasping for air, he felt sweat dripping down his back and dampening his shirt. _Boom!_ It was the all-too-familiar sound of the cannon, another tribute fallen. He looked up at the sky too see the picture of the dead tribute but it was too foggy, all he could hear was the anthem playing. Even though he couldn't see the picture, he knew one thing; there were three tributes left: himself and two from 12, now there were only two tributes. He could just taste the victory.

Cato made his way down the river to get a drink of water and wash the dried blood from his face. He was in the middle of taking a drink when he heard a twig snap. He froze. It was too late to hide now…

His heart seemed to stop as he dared not move. His eyes carefully scanned the perimeter for any sign of a human. _Snap!_ He sucked in a breath and held it. The noises grew louder and louder, with every rustle of a bush, snap of a twig, and crunch of soil. It was just a deer. Cato let out a sigh of relief. He slowly drew his sword. He was ready to throw his sword when an arrow flies out of nowhere and pierces the deer's body, killing it instantly.

Cato turned around as saw a girl about twenty feet away with a loaded arrow pointing at his head. For a split second, he didn't know what to do. Cato felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. The girl stretched the bowstring further, ready to shoot. Without thinking, he dropped his weapon to the ground and raised his hands above his head. The girl didn't seem convinced.

_This is it, I'm gonna die… _Cato squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself. He heard the arrow being released, the sound of the deadly arrow whished past him. He expected to feel a sharp pain as the arrow pierced his guts but it never came. Cato cautiously opened one eye and then the other. He looked down and saw the arrow stuck in a tree trunk missing him by a mere centimeter. He looked back up to find the girl still there.

The girl loaded another arrow but lowered the bow as she walked towards Cato. As she came closer, he recognized the girl from 12. Cato realized that she had missed on purpose. She scored an impressive 11 at training and knew that she could never miss a target. She gave him a glance before walking past him towards the deer she killed. Cato watched as she struggled to carry and drag the deer.

"Here, lemme help you with that" Cato offered. He reached for the deer when the girl flashed a threatening glare. She had a knife in her hand.

She slowly lowered her knife and looked at him as if allowing him to carry the deer for her. Cato grabbed the front legs of the deer and swung the animal effortlessly over his shoulders. He followed her down the river and into a cave. It reeked of sweat and blood as Cato put down the deer. She immediately began skinning the animal. He quietly sat down beside her.

"So 12, this is your shelter?" he asked trying to start a conversation.

The girl nodded as she worked.

Cato looked around the cave. "So…uh…Lover boy?"

"Stop." She looked at him "Don't say anything about him."

"What ha-"Cato started.

"I drowned him okay?" she sniffed. "He was sick…there was no way to heal him. He insisted that he wanted to go." She paused. "I took him down the river and he told me to hold his head down no matter how hard he struggled…and I did, he was thrashing and choking. But I held him down until it all stopped. When the cannon fired….Peeta died. I killed him." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Cato was speechless "I-I'm sorry" he reached out and gently wiped the tear away. "It'll be okay"

She shook her head. Her hands covered her face as if in shame. Cato scooted over and wrapped her in his muscular arms. He coaxed her until she stopped crying. She quickly pulled away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, I know what it feels like…to want to save a person but it's too late" Cato felt a pang of sadness as the thought of his district partner, Clove being bashed in the head. He begged her to stay but the cannon fired and her picture was placed on the sky.

"It's Katniss by the way" the girl whispered. A small smile appeared on her face

"Nice to meet you, I'm Cato" he answered.

Katniss' smiled faded as she thought of Rue's death and how she was too late to save her. For the first time, Katniss looked at Cato as a friend, not an enemy.

She continued to gut and clean the deer. Cato helped make a fire to cook it over. They sat down near the flame and took turns roasting their deer meat on a stick over the fire. There was a crackle of thunder and rain started to pour in. Both were silent as they ate their deer meat.

"What's it like in District 2?" Katniss asked after a while of silence.

"Meh, it's alright." Cato answered as he bit off a hunk of his deer meat.

Katniss scoffed, "if your district is just _alright _then my district must be hell."

"I don't have the perfect District 2 family. I live with my mom and my baby brother. Mom's been sick for a while so she can't take care of my brother. My dad left us when I was a toddler; rumor has it that he left so he could marry a Capitol woman after he won the Games."

"Your dad won the games?" Katniss asked curiously

"That's what I've been told. It's the reason why the people in my district expect so much out of me."

Katniss stared at the ground as they both listened to the raging winds and storm.

"You were really brave to volunteer for your sister at the reaping." He said suddenly.

Katniss looked up at him. "You volunteered too."

Cato scoffed "I didn't feel proud or confident when I did it, I was scared. I did it because everyone expects the Victor's son to win the games as well. You did it out of pure love for your sister."

Katniss looked at him for a long time. She realized something no one else did. Cato wasn't the monstrous boy from district 2 that knew nothing but to kill. He had a heart, and he was just as scared as everybody else at the reaping. Was she wrong about him this whole time? Could she trust him?

"You aren't the monster everyone thought you were, huh?"

Cato shook his head. "I'm not, but when you have something to fight for, you're willing to be."

His words struck Katniss deep in her heart. She had something to fight for too, Prim, District 12, Gale, Rue, and Peeta…

Forgetting that there are thousands of people watching from the capitol including the districts, Katniss leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. There was a startled gasp from Cato but he gently inched his face forwards to kiss her back, only this time it was on the lips.

He pulled away and smiled. Katniss was blushing like a tomato. He laughed as he playfully tugged at her braid. They eventually curl up together near the fire. Both talked about their districts and what their lives were like before the reaping. They joked and laughed at the capitol's ridiculous accent, mimicking it between laughter. It was the first real laugh they had in the arena. Finally after it all died down, Katniss snuggled closer to him and leaned against his chest which was practically radiating precious body heat.

She thought about Prim and how she used to sing her to sleep. Without realizing it, she began to sing.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes  
And when they open, the sun will rise…_

To her surprise, Cato joined in.

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet-  
-and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

"My mom used to sing this to me when I was little." Cato glanced at the Mockingjay pin on her shirt. "My mom was from district 12 before she got married."

Katniss couldn't believe it. No wonder there was the tiniest hint of Seam grey in his blue eyes. He had District 12 blood in him.

Suddenly, a grave thought hit her, "You know that there can be only one Victor…"

Cato pressed a finger to his lips, "Shhh… let's not think about it right now."

Katniss leaned back on his chest. She blushed as she gazed into his blue eyes. Soon both of them drifted to sleep.

Katniss awakened by a loud roar of thunder the next morning. She found herself sleeping against a rock. Panic set in as she whirled around quickly looking for Cato.

Cato was sitting at the opening of the cave cooking breakfast. He looked up and saw Katniss awake and gave a small wave. "Morning, 12."

Katniss yawned as she stretched. She slowly crawled next to him and rested her head on his broad shoulders. She tucked her arms underneath his for warmth. "It's still raining."

"Yep." Cato handed her a stick with leftover deer on it.

She gratefully accepts it and nibbled on it. A thought dawned to her that the Gamemakers haven't disturbed them yet. They're probably preparing the finale.

After they were finished, they stayed huddled around the fire. The rain was so bad they couldn't even hear the anthem playing to signal the morning. Cato was sharpening his knife while Katniss tended to some of her wounds.

Cato looked over at her and kissed the top if her head, "I wanna ask you something."

"Shoot"

"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

Katniss look up at him and smiled "umm…I don't know, maybe I just got so lost in your gorgeous blue eyes that I couldn't shoot straight."

Cato chuckled and continued sharpening.

A chilling wind rushed into the cave and blew out the fire. Katniss shivered "its freezing" she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

Cato smiled as he put the knife in his pocket and hoisted her up so that she was sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he planted little kisses near her jaw. " Then why don't we _make_ some fire?" he teased seductively.

Katniss smiled as she flipped him over so that he was on top of her. She never noticed how handsome he was until now. She pouted for a kiss.

Cato smirked as he leaned over and kissed her. He made sure the kiss was long enough for him to pull out his dagger and stab her in the back.

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Cato's POV:

I leaned over and gave her a kiss. She kissed me with such enthusiasm. I lingered my lips over hers as I silently pull out the dagger from my pocket. Her eyes were closed so she didn't notice the knife behind her.

Without hesitation, I plunge the dagger deep through her heart.

Her eyes widened, bulging even. Her mouth formed an O shape as blood spilled from it. I pull away from her and watched her suffer.

Blood was pooling around her as she struggled to gain consciousness. Her eyes were glazing over. She looked at me with unforgiveable eyes. She collapsed to the ground gurgling in blood. She twitched for a few seconds and stopped. The last cannon fired.

The rain suddenly turned to bright sunshine.

A menacing smile spread through my face. I won the 74th Hunger Games. Out of nowhere, I hear Claudius Templesmith's voice.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT THE VICTOR OF THE 74TH HUNGER GAMES, CATO! I GIVE YOU- THE TRIBUTE FROM DISTICT 2!"

I laughed. You didn't actually believe that I had a baby brother to protect, or that my sick mother's from district 12, did you? Stupid girl, to think she actually bought my story. She was almost too easy to play with. I was trained to this, to kill viciously in every possible way. I reached over the bloody girl and grabbed her Mockingjay pin. I crushed it like a cookie in my hand and let it crumble to the ground.

Love was the deadliest weapon of them all and I knew just how to use it. It was only a matter of time before I had her where I wanted. I stepped out of the cave without a second glance at the dead girl, what was her name again? I forgot.

All I knew was that the Girl on Fire just got burned.

Let this be a lesson to all, never trust a Career…

-Fin.-

* * *

**A/N: I don't own the Hunger Games. Thanks for reading! Please Review?**


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